Thursday, July 25, 2019

Pollard Gets First Deery Win at Fayette County

After a couple nights of good Modified racing, it was time to check out the cars with fenders on them for one night. Wednesday night, July 24th, I visited the Fayette County Speedway in West Union Iowa for the IMCA Deery Brothers event. The Fayette County Fair was in full swing and for that reason the Race Committee of the Fair Board had brought in the Deery Brothers event as a special attraction. It is an interesting mix as the other three divisions racing on this night would be the Stock Cars, B Mods and Hobby Stocks racing under the USRA banner. As many of you know, the IMCA and USRA get along like water and gas, at least at the highest corporate levels of each organization but from what I could see, there was a seamless mix of officials working together on this night to make the series race and the rest of the program go smoothly.

Of course, both groups stand to benefit from such an arrangement as the Fair Board gets a full house of spectators for this event and trust me when I say that the new aluminum grandstand was packed to the rafters for this race. The Deery Brothers also benefits as they get another race on their schedule at a location close to where many of the Late Model racers call home and dates are important for the Deery Brothers series, as their schedule has started to shrink in recent years and they can use all the racers they can muster up.

The most obvious change since I was last at Fayette County is the new covered aluminum grandstand that replaced the old wooden one that was not only a safety hazard but a difficult structure to even navigate in with it's extremely narrow aisles and splinter infested boards. It made a huge difference in the seating comfort for the fans and know I don't have to wish for a windstorm to hit West Union and take down that old wooden beast. Now if someone would just readjust those infield lights that shine right into the eyes of the fans once it gets dark, that would be great also.

The grandstand cost approximately $300,000 according to one of the Race Committee members that I talked to on Wednesday and he said that they have it about two thirds paid for at this point thanks to some generous benefactors and some fund raisers that are still ongoing. They would like to be able to pay off the structure once this year's Fair is over if possible.

A remarkable thing about the Fayette County Fair is that everything about the Fair itself is free. There is no charge for parking at the Fair and here's the big thing, all the rides are absolutely free at all times to everyone! I have never heard of such a thing at a Fair but the Fair Board has made this arrangement so that all citizens of the County and those that wish to visit from other areas don't have to worry whether or not they can afford to entertain their children and whether doing the Fair just wouldn't fit their budget. It seems to me that there are some awfully nice and progressive thinking people involved with this Fair. Perhaps the fact that everything else is free in part helps pack the grandstand for the races along with the fact that it is a rare opportunity for race fans in northeastern Iowa to see the Late Models race locally. The drivers, by the way, love to see the grandstands packed too and not just for economic reasons.

With that being said, twenty seven Late Models signed in to race on Wednesday including eight of the top ten in Deery Brothers current point standings. A surprise was that co point leader Justin Kay was absent. However, I learned the reason why he was absent was due to the fact that his wife was very soon to deliver an addition to the Kay family and Justin needed to be close to his home for that event. So instead, he chose to run a race in Davenport that was in the backyard of where he lives, rather than all the way up to northeast Iowa, even though the Deery Brothers does not have a "throw out" race and his missing effectively killed his chances to be the Deery champion again.

Johnny Emerson was in a different ride on this night as he was driving the #19g of Richie Gustin. Seems that Emerson blew his motor up recently and with his back up motor being freshened, he had no available power plants for his car. So Gustin, busy beating up on the Modified drivers this week and with no need for his Late Model, loaned his car out to Emerson for the night. It was a productive procedure as Emerson would finish third while Gustin has been "schooling" the Modifieds elsewhere this week.

I have been to a number of shows at West Union over the years and have seen some great races from the Late Models on a track that has been wide and racy with multiple grooves. Unfortunately, Wednesday night would not be one of those nights. I hate to sound like a "negative Nancy" but the track was severely "rubbered up" and the Late Models had to dive into formation, hug the bottom lane and follow each other for forty laps. That doesn't make the win by Eric Pollard, his first ever in Deery Brothers action, any less significant but it is simply stating a fact to report that side by side racing was not in the cards on this night.

Pollard got the jump on Joel Callahan from the front row and led the entire race. That doesn't mean that he didn't have to work hard and hit his marks but the action was mostly of drivers working in line on the low side of the track. A couple of drivers, Tyler Bruening and Callahan, tried the top side briefly Along with Emerson but they quickly realized that they needed to be on the bottom of the track or they were going to get shuffled backward.

Near the end of the race, Pollard had his biggest challenges as he reached a group of three backmarkers, all running the same line as the rest of the field and tough to get by. The decision was whether or not to try and drive around them or stay in line behind them and hope that they were fast enough that no one was going to drive by him on the outside. Callahan went for broke and tried to drive around the whole group and it nearly worked until he got crossed up and collided with both Bruening and Emerson but fortunately all were able to keep right on racing with Callahan giving up three spots with his attempted pass.

Andy Eckrich was the beneficiary of this adjustment as he edged into second and followed Pollard home for second with Emerson, Bruening and Callahan trailing. It was a tough night for the point leaders as along with Kay's absence, Jeremiah Hurst had a bad night, settling for thirteenth as he jsut couldn't move forward and Callahan likely took over the point lead after the evening was complete. Pollard was thrilled and perhaps just a bit stunned with his win, coming during a season when I have seen him run better than I can ever recall before. It was also nice to see Gary Webb running very competitively against a solid field of race cars as he sorts out his new car.

After a smooth running heat race portion of the show with all heat races completed in less than an hour, the support class cars had a tough time of it in their main events with so many yellows that even the fans who were on hand to watch many of them as their familiar weekly favorites, grew restless with all the spins etc.

The Hobby Stocks had the toughest time with six yellows in their race that seemed to last almost forever. However, it was also the race that produced the closest finish and the most fan reaction. Mike Darnall, the local driver, had done a nice job of working his way into the lead but was being pressured by Troy Hovey for the top spot. After all the yellows and just near the end of the race following another yellow flag, Hovey drew up beside Darnell and edged past him in what I thought was a perfectly clean passing maneuver.

However, many in the crowd didn't see it the same way and there was a howl of protest when Hovey drove by for the win and then in victory lane where the cheers and jeers were about equally mixed. Perhaps this is all part of a West Union vs. Decorah rivalry either on or off the track. In any event, the crowd was frothing at the mouth after that race and many were needing a "cold one" to quash their unfulfilled hopes.

The face of the Hobby Stock racing on this night was changed dramatically when top runner Chris Hovden dropped a drive shaft in the first corner of his heat race and did not return for further action.

While the Late Models were stuck to the bottom for their main event, the other classes found that the high side was the quick way for them to get around the track and they chased each other while dancing on the edge of the cushion. The Stock Cars ran this route with Mitch Hovden getting to the front early after a pass on Brian Mahlstedt and then he held off Mahlstedt and Kyle Falck for the win. A near disaster saw Mahlstedt suddenly slow when he broke and Falck nearly rear ended him before spinning off the track but he was restored to his spot and he spent the rest of the race trying to get past Hovden to no avail. Dillon Anderson was a close third.

The B Mods wrapped up the night with their main event and they had their share of difficulties also with several yellow flags, most attributed to the same car that for some reason track officials let continue to race, even though he was a "time bomb" just waiting to spin for the third or fourth time before he finally headed for the pits, fortunately without spinning once again.

Minnesota invader Ben Moudry, who I believe is  a native of these parts, led from start to finish in the B Mods, holding off all challenges from Dan Hovden for the win. Racing was completed at about 10:45 pm on what was another spectacular night for racing and Fair attending.

This is a rather rural area of the state but I noticed immediately that there was a real sense of "ownership" of this Fair by both the officials and all the people attending this race and all the other events that surround the Fair. It is a truly "big deal" to these folks for Fair time and I don't see that at a lot of other county fairs these days and it is rather refreshing.

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